


Pregnancy Annoucement

by KangKorandKoloth



Series: Assorted Shunnao One Shots [8]
Category: Bleach
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Not Canon Compliant, Pregnancy, Twins, ignores final arc, prompt request
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2020-04-13
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:41:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23631769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KangKorandKoloth/pseuds/KangKorandKoloth
Summary: A slight prologue to happily every after. Nanao is pregnant, so she and Shunsui break the news to Jushiro - prompt request filled for a friend
Relationships: Ise Nanao/Kyouraku Shunsui
Series: Assorted Shunnao One Shots [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/263377
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	Pregnancy Annoucement

**Author's Note:**

  * For [nekno](https://archiveofourown.org/users/nekno/gifts).



> This is the beginning part of happily ever after (which y'know I said I'd finish and put up like 18 months ago) but makes sense without having read happily ever after. Prompt request from Nekno and a gift for her also. Enjoy.

The box made its way with a slow slithering shush against the wood, coming to a rest in a no man’s land near the opposite edge of the table. A hand retracted, its owner completing the act with an air of ceremonial satisfaction; task accomplished even if the onlookers couldn’t comprehend the importance.

“Is that really necessary?”

Said onlooker, green around the gills and a hand upon her stomach, looked just as confused as Shunsui had expected her to. To the inexperienced, this one small act was an excess, especially considering the reason they were here in the first place; this was supposed to be a happy meeting. Shunsui, however, was nothing if not a man of experience and he looked towards his love, the corners of his lips turning upwards in a sign of affection and indulgence.

“Trust me”

His eyes met hers, holding the gaze for a moment before taking in the rest of her and resisting the urge to turn his attention from the room back onto her. He had to admit, her now slightly sick pallor would never not concern him, no matter how many times he was assured it was normal. The last few weeks had been a learning curve, for him just as much as Nanao. She’d changed though, he conceded, rising to the new challenge as naturally as breathing while he still felt out of step, playing catch up while she strode forward. Perhaps that was to be expected considering her condition. It affected her more than him if you looked at it physically but, it did mean it was at times like these when he felt able to take the lead, that he wanted to do that more than anything. If only to take away some of the burden from her.

“I only hope we have enough”

If he’d been hoping that would be the end of the matter, he was sorely mistaken. An eyebrow raised, nose wrinkling as his sharp-witted Nanao-chan, pondered over the mystery of such a minor object and why so many were needed.

“But it’s a fresh family size box….”

He allowed himself a laugh at her relentless practicality. The size of the box didn’t really matter, they both knew that, but there was safety in the question. To her, they offered a form of control, a sense of normality; something she could keep tabs on, while everything else changed whether she liked it or not. This was she remained herself, and Shunsui was not going to take that away from her.

“and I can guarantee, it’ll be at least half empty after today”

She opened her mouth, about to offer rebuttal, he took her hand and brushed his thumb soothing against the back, bringing their lips together with a peck that settled any more negotiation. 

“Believe me”

His voice was warm and wheedling, but still she persisted, not that Shunsui could blame her. This was their routine, and even when they’d gotten together, it hadn’t really changed.

“You under-estimate him”

She took her seat, folding her hands into her lap, poised and lady like, leaving shunsui to put the finishing touches to the room while they waited for their guest. The amount of faith she was prepared allow his best friend was generous to say the least. It was sweet and one of the many reasons Shunsui loved her as much as he did, but he shook his head, fully aware, she couldn’t be more wrong. This was not his first time at the rodeo, even if it was the first time the news related directly to him.

“I was there for a least half the times his siblings broke the news, he always cries buckets”

“That bad?”

There was a smile now and the inquisitorial spark left her eyes overridden by surprise, prepared to give up for now, if it meant she got an insight into this age-old friendship.

“That. bad.”

The subject dropped and Shunsui sat, shifting the chair a little closer to Nanao and turning his attention to her ghostly pallor.

“You okay, Nanao-chan?”

She turned her head towards him, placing a hand on his arm

“I’m fine,” her mouth opened then closed, the next words clearly reconsidered – Shunsui liked to think into something softer. It wouldn’t have been the first time in the last few weeks, he’d been told to stop fussing “I’ll get some rest once we’re done here”

That was enough for him to let it drop for now, confident she was at least taking care of herself and glad this was one thing he didn’t need to coax her on. She was stubborn, normally quite happy to neglect herself if not kept in check. However, she was a smart one too, he swelled with pride at this knowledge, and now there wasn’t just her to consider. She’d changed, but then again, he wouldn’t expect anything less.

“I’ll take the lead”

A much smaller hand placed itself on his, Shunsui’s spare one slipping on top and surrounding it, giving a little pat. There was nothing to be worried about here, but she wasn’t at her best and he knew this guest better than anyone. It was his pleasure to do this for, considering what she was prepared to go for him and the sake of their brand-new family.

“Thank you”

He kissed her cheek, lingering against the soft skin with its scent of ill and perfume, before the sound of a door opening and an all too familiar voice drew him away and back to the task at hand.

“One last thing”

“What?”

“Expect hugs”

Later, once the door was closed and they were alone again, Shunsui would have to concede even he couldn’t have predicted just how right he’d been. He’d been quietly confident, of course, and knew Nanao couldn’t possibly know just how Jushiro got at times like this, she’d never seen it and it was one thing to warn her that he might get a little emotional but quite another to actually witness it first-hand.

But even Shunsui thought, the display the two of them had just witnessed was on another level even for Jushiro.

The two of them were seated together, tea things tidied away, just enjoying the lull now that the news had been broken and their small home was once again their own. They needed to make the most of these, Shunsui thought, staring down at the woman beside him; brighter than before and happy as far as he could tell, but still visibly pale. Things were set to change and change probably faster than either of them could anticipate; the house would need to be adapted, the division prepared to manage an extended Nanao absence and the two of them readied for many sleepless nights, but Shunsui still hoped these little moments of calm might still be a thing in the future.

“Okay, I take it back. Maybe those tissues were needed”

He turned his head, thinking it was somewhat unusual to concede the point without a fight, but also decided she probably didn’t have much choice after what the two of them had just witnessed. There hadn’t been much that either of them could do, except watch in silence as the scene unfolded; Nanao a little opened mouthed, while Shunsui sat back a little, offering friendly comfort to his friend but more or less watching the situation play out more or less as expected.

Until, Jushiro proved them all wrong and utterly outdid himself.

“Told you”

He was the epitome of vindicated confidence and impressed with the strength of reaction, now he replayed the whole scenario in his head; taking it as a compliment. He felt Nanao looking up at him, head tilted, searching in a way that normally meant he was in for a scolding or at the very least she wasn’t quite sure about what he was saying. Had it really been that extreme, he wondered. Even Shunsui could admit to underestimating him, but it hadn’t seemed that far out of reality for his oldest friend, or someone that family focussed.

“Is he always like that?”

He nodded, sinking back against the sofa back and breaking into a smile. It felt good to be able to share this lesser known snippet of knowledge. Jushiro might be one of the friendlier and well liked captains around the Gotei , but Shunsui liked to think that not many knew him well. Or at least not in the sense that Shunsui knew him well.

“In a round about way, yes. Though I’ve got to admit, Nanao-chan, he actually managed to surprise me”

She offered a half smirk and a raised eyebrow, disbelieving perhaps, Shunsui thought. He couldn’t blame her for that. He’d been the certain one after all, although it didn’t feel like such a deep wound to admit his under estimation. Nanao would understand, he thought, that even the oldest of friends could still be underestimated.

“Really?”

“Yes, really”

“but it was so sudden…like he couldn’t hold it in anymore”

“I know. It’s how he always is. He feels deeply. I’d take it as a compliment… the hug too”

The smirk broke into the sweet, somewhat enigmatic smile that had drawn Shunsui to her in the first place. He couldn’t really tell if she was teasing him or simply flattered that cascade of Jushiro’s emotions and the bone crunching-hug she’d found herself wound up in was the sign of joy and affection it was. If it was teasing then it wasn’t nearly enough for him to play wounded or shut down the tale completely, not when this particular quirk of his friend’s had such a long-standing history and seemed to hold her interest for the moment.

“I thought I’d seen the worst when his youngest sister had her first. Compared to this, that was nothing”

Nanao turned her head towards him, and Shunsui grinned at having her attention. Her whole expression almost demanded he continue, if only to explain why they’d be so far away from the seireitei in the first place.

“I’d gone back home with him after he’d been particularly ill. He couldn’t really recover here and couldn’t really travel alone either. It made sense for us to go together. The girl sprung it on us not long after we’d arrived…” he laughed and shook his head “I didn’t think anyone could be happier about a baby coming into this world as he was then…”

He fell into silence, allowing the woman at his side to draw his own conclusions; Nanao absorbing the message in her own time. She frowned for a second, brow wrinkling, her attention off in the middle distance for a few moments before she settled deeper into the arm around her small frame and pretty much made Shunsui’s night. 

“We’re a special case?”

This was spoken with a great deal of affection, maybe a little pride and Shunsui couldn’t agree more. She got it, he thought, she understood.

“We are, Nanao-chan”

He felt her settle just a little bit against him; leaning against his flank as he acted on auto pilot to wrap his arm around her, let thick fingers stroke her hair and closed his eyes. This never got old to him, and there was a small part of him who wondered if it might be even better once parenthood kicked in and could curl up together as a family. He’d like to think it might be, even if it meant sacrificing these moments of calm at the end of the evening.

“Do you think it’s because there’s two?”

He laughed and cast a tender look at her stomach, still bowled over by the fact there was two himself. It wasn’t exactly something he’d expected to hear during that first check-up and the realities if You couldn’t tell just yet that there was more than one in there, although that hadn’t stopped them sharing the news. It was better they told in their own way, they’d decided, rather than wait for people to jump to conclusion and take a guess. He couldn’t argue with her logic either, to an outsider that kind of logic made sense.

“Perhaps, “ he agreed “but I don’t think that’s the soul reason”

He patted her stomach, then looked up to catch Nanao’s eye. Twins were a rarity, no doubt and Shunsui knew Jushiro in particular would see this as special, but he knew his friends reasoning ran far deeper than that.

“He’s happy to see us like this”

“Happy to see _you_ settled” she corrected, and Shunsui was forced to admit she had a point. If he looked back, then he’d have said Jushiro would be the one to as he and Nanao were now. “He knows you’ll be a good father”

At least someone had faith in him, Shusnui thought, not sure he quite believed that himself. Nanao, he didn’t doubt for a second, despite her protests, him on the other hand… well he’d never seen himself as the paternal type. Although, even Shunsui had to admit it was probably a bit too late to suggest he might not be the best person to start a family with.

“You know he’ll want to be Godfather”

She yawned, surprising Shunsui just how fast she tired now, maybe some of these changes would come sooner than others. He hoped the division would be able to weather it. She did smile though, peaking up at him through a single cracked eyelid and gave the answer Shunsui knew she would.

“I’m okay with that.”

He allowed himself to settle back at hearing that, for now convinced that things would be okay.


End file.
